Improvement of online real-time practical work platforms by optimizing routing and resource allocation in software-defined elastic optical data center networks: The case of the Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar

Abstract

Several research studies have shown that the socio-constructivist model allows learners to develop skills. This model advocates collaborative work between peers and pedagogical activities through practical work. With the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic and its constraints, universities have turned to online courses. Despite the use of online collaboration tools, we are finding that some real-time practical work based on screen sharing is difficult to do given the time lag between transmission and reception due to considerable latency. To overcome this latency problem we propose in this paper an algorithm that optimizes routing and resource allocation in software-defined optical data center networks, using Virtual Extensible Networks (VXLANs). This allows the implementation of socioconstructivist models while minimizing latency. Our solution is tested at the Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar and has significantly improved latency by making online courses and practical work in the context of COVID-19 fluid and synchronous.